Short Trips
by Left Handed Lemon
Summary: A collection of short stories, told from the Doctor's POV. Written as part of an ask blog collab on Tumblr, with dragonwings948. Doctor & Clara friendship, set between series 8 and 9. Newest story: 'The Mind-Prowlers' – It's an unsettling feeling, to have your mind taken over by another. To look out at the universe through your own eyes, but to have no control over your actions...
1. Introduction

**INTRODUCTION**

_I'm going to hijack the first chapter for a little explanation. Cause if anything, I enjoy writing long introductions. XD What can I say, I just like to share my thoughts._

_This little collection of stories came about when dragonwings948 and I teamed up with two ask blogs on tumblr, one for Clara, one for Twelve (askimpossiblegirl and ask-crotchety-twelve). One thing we do is we take turns in writing down accounts of their little outings with the Tardis. She writes from Clara's POV, I write from the Doctor's POV and it's hellishly fun. We're both posting the stories on our respective accounts, so be sure to check both out! Honestly, her stories are brilliant._

_Also, a head's up for everyone who's waiting for their prompts: I haven't forgotten you! I'm working on the stories, though one of them is proving quite difficult, so it could still be a while till I'm finished. Just bear with me. I'll post them all eventually._

_Anyway, that's all the info from my side. I'm going to hand over to the Doctor now._


	2. Whether the Weather

**WHETHER THE WEATHER  
**

_Whether the weather be fine, Or whether the weather be not,  
Whether the weather be cold, Or wether the weather be hot,  
We'll weather the weather, Whatever the weather,_

_Whether we like it or not._

To be honest, I never thought I'd have to take that poem literally one day,_ twice_ in a row. Well, thinking back at how slippery this day started… There's a silly little saying on Earth for that: Coincidences attract each other. Or was it opposites? Can never remember which it is… Clara would probably know.

Where was I?

Ah, yes… Slippery! Turns out it wasn't my best idea to visit the Rain World of the Soon Penxor before picking up Clara from her rather boring everyday life. To make a long story short, I ended up with a few pockets full of leeches and a Tardis full of water. The result of that was an unsteady, slidy trip in which Clara accused me of willful negligence and endangerment, among other things. I probably stopped listening after the first minute, or I just deleted it. One or the other.

"Okay… I think those were the scariest five minutes of my life," Clara told me after we'd materialized, giving me that big-eyed look that always makes her eyes bulge.

I looked over at her with a frown, trying to figure out if she was joking or not. "What do you mean, _scary?_ This was hardly any different to how she usually flies," I protested.

Clara nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly. Your terrible driving skills, plus a wet and slippery floor… You know, I was really looking forward to this trip earlier, but now I'm not so sure."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," I muttered, turning my attention back to the screen in front of me. I performed a short scan of the surrounding area and checked a couple of readings about the composition of the atmosphere and radiation levels. Not that I didn't know where we'd landed, it's just a routine thing.

Clara crossed her arms and leaned past the central column to make eye contact with me. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" I retorted.

"Well," she said and eyed me with a quizzically raised brow. "Aren't you going to tell me where we are?"

I regarded her for a moment, until she crossed her arms and cleared her throat impatiently.

"It's a surprise," I finally said, fishing out a long piece of cloth from inside my jacket. "Which is why you'll have to close your eyes now."

Clara frowned at the fabric and took a step back. "A blindfold? Seriously?"

"Shut up and close your eyes," I ordered.

That seemed to do the trick. Taking her smile as a signal, I moved forward and tied the cloth firmly around her head. "No peeking," I warned, grasping her wrist. "Keep a hold of my hand and follow my voice. It's a bit of a walk, so bare with me."

To my surprise, she let out a short laugh. "Only if you don't walk me into anything," she joked.

"Course not, boss," I replied.

As anticipated, the walk took a while and by the end of it, Clara was once again complaining about things. Continuing to ignore her muttering, I guided her to the right spot and removed the blindfold. "Welcome to Kel-Eyros," I said.

The muttering stopped. I watched with satisfaction as Clara's eyes grew big and round and her mouth dropped open. She looked a bit like a fish, doing that.

"Impressed?" I asked her, smiling.

"Wow…" She breathed and nodded slowly. "I'm… yes. That is… impressive… _Wow._"

We were standing on top of a high cliff. In front of us, as far as the eye could see, solidified, semi-transparent shapes glistened in the red light of dusk. A sea of ice, its towering storm waves frozen in time. Thin wafts of fog were coiling their way around the sharp, ragged edges and somehow made the landscape look alive.

"It's beautiful," Clara said beside me.

"It certainly is," I agreed.

We stood in complete silence for a while, until Clara turned her head, eyeing me.

"Go on, give me the science," she said, smiling. "We both know you want to."

"Funny you should say that, because I was just contemplating if I should bring it up," I answered, rubbing my hands together.

I started explaining to her that Kel-Eyros is an uninhabited planet with a very interesting, if extreme, weather system. In one hemisphere, the temperatures are so low that liquid nitrogen can be found in huge, underground lakes. However, on the other side of the planet, the wind is so hot that it sets the earth alight.

"The only reason why we can stand here and admire the view is because we're on the edge of both extremes. A narrow space where 'freezing' and 'scorching' mix to form 'pleasant'. A small area where the planet is habitable," I continued, "Unless the weather changes."

Clara perked up at this. "Unless the weather changes?" she repeated, slightly alarmed.

I shrugged in response. "Every few thousand years, there's a big shift in the weather system. It's what happened here. That ocean used to be the pleasant part of the planet, until a shift occurred and it was shock-frosted. The next one shouldn't be due for another 500 years, so we're in the clear."

Thinking back, it occurs to me now that I probably shouldn't have said that. Because, as soon as the words had left my mouth, the floor started to quiver with a low rumbling sound. The air in the distance, now barely illuminated by the setting sun had started shimmering ominously.

"Doctor…?" Clara's hesitant voice drifted over to me. "Tell me that this isn't what I think it is."

I swallowed audibly. "Depends on what you think it is," I answered.

Clara slowly moved back from the edge of the cliff. "It's a shift, isn't it? Oh god, we'll freeze to death if we don't get out of here!"

"More like scorched," I corrected, "Winter is over. Summer's coming…"

As if on cue, one of the distant icebergs burst as the heat reached it, sending a deafening bang across the landscape a fraction of a second later. Then another of the gigantic structures blew up, and another.

Clara glared at me furiously. "Oh, great! 500 years, you said! You probably landed us here 500 years late! Or 500 years early!", she shouted "Should've known you'd get us into trouble again! You _always_ get us into trouble!"

"Clara, as much as I'd love to discuss this right now," I shouted over the thunder of bursting ice, "there's a scorching hot wall of air coming our way and I would very much like to keep my skin!"

Grabbing her hand, I started pulling Clara with me and we ran as fast as we could, counting the bangs as the boiling air rushed forward. Soon, she overtook me and I was the one being pulled along. I must give it to Clara, for someone with legs as short as hers, she can certainly build up speed.

Needless to say, we made it to the Tardis in the nick of time, where I just about managed an emergency hop into the outer atmosphere of the planet. It would have been a very educational experience to watch the weather shift commence from up there, but Clara was too busy shouting at me. She only stopped when she made me promise that I'd never 'surprise' her again.


	3. Number Two

_Just a little head's up for this story if you don't follow the blogs: Sometimes a future version of the Doctor sends his past version messages on Tumblr. This time, he wrote himself the following warning: _

_"Message to past me: Take number 2. I mean it. Number 2 is the only right way you can go, so don't forget it. Otherwise you'll end up in a lot of trouble. _

_Can't tell you any more because of obvious reasons, but just remember: Number 2."_

* * *

**NUMBER TWO**

Sometimes when Clara and I travel, it turns out to be _"one of those days"_… To be fair, all our outings tend to be like that, but on some occasions the phrase definitely deserves to be written in italics.

It all started when Clara wrote me a message online, asking to have another go at meeting Charlotte Brontë. The reason being that our last attempt had ended fairly uneventful. You'll have to read Clara's account of it, because I don't really desire to go into that one too much. It's a bit… personal.

I arrived at her flat about half an hour off and after a few short explanations, we found ourselves back on board the Tardis. Or rather, I did. I had fully expected for Clara to be behind me, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"What's taking you so long? Have you forgotten to colour in your face?" I asked, poking my head out of the Tardis. Clara was still sitting on the couch, typing away on her laptop. She glanced up.

"_Very_ funny." The sarcasm was practically dripping off her words. "As a matter of fact, I'm writing a message to past you on tumblr."

"Why?"

"Because _someone_ parked his Tardis in my living room half an hour early and now I have to make sure that he gets here in the first place." She frowned. "Wait, isn't that some sort of mini-paradox?"

I shrugged. "Probably, but it's fairly inconsequential."

"Good to know," she answered and glanced back down at her laptop. Whatever she saw there seemed to be hilarious because a huge smile started to spread on her face.

To be frank, I was slightly taken aback by that. "What's all the grinning about?" I asked her.

Clara let out a small laugh. "You are so sweet sometimes, d'you know that?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You just wished me a happy Valentine's Day. Didn't know you could be that nice."

I cleared my throat, feeling the treacherous sensation of embarrassment creep up my cheeks. "Well, you wished me one first. Thought I'd participate in one of your silly human traditions for a change."

"Oh wow, how thoughtful. And where did you hide the chocolates?" Clara answered and shut the laptop, her grin growing even wider.

"One can go too far, you know. And stop doing that, your jaw looks like it'll detach any minute," I said and turned around. "Now come on before I change my mind and leave you here."

After a fair amount of pottering around in her apartment, Clara finally appeared, shutting the doors behind her. She was carrying a copy of _Jane Eyre, _excitement gleaming in her eyes.

I shot her a quick glance and smiled to myself. "Hoping for an autograph?"

"Why not?" Clara said, coming up beside me. "Perks of havin' a time machine. Might as well make the most of it."

I nodded in agreement. "If you're lucky, you'll get a signed original," I declared. Circling the console, I made some last-minute adjustments, before standing still with a hand wrapped around the main leaver. "But only if you're lucky."

Clara grinned again. "I'm guessing you already have one, then."

"Naturally," I responded with a smile of my own and activated the leaver.

A sensationalist novel writer would have probably typed something along the lines of _"And this was when it all went wrong"_ at this stage. Which isn't entirely true. It was an exceptionally bumpy ride, but I like to think I handled the situation quite well, even though Clara would probably disagree. She always does.

Once we'd landed, she glared at me from where she lay sprawled across the console. "Okay, what just happened?" she questioned with an annoyed tone to her voice.

I frowned at her. Straightening up, I took a step to the side, grabbed the screen atop the console and pulled it over towards me. As I ran the diagnostic program, I could hear an impatient cough, which I chose to ignore. Finally, Clara moved over to my side and glanced past me. "What's it say then?" she demanded, pointing at the writing on the monitor.

"Something rather… strange. It seems we bounced right off 1847." The explanation wasn't entirely accurate, but it would do for now.

Clara shot me a sideways glance. "'Bounced off?'" she repeated, "How does that even work?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Oh,_ thanks_." Clara crossed her arms and leaned against the console, mumbling something incoherent. I decided not to listen and prepared the scanner for a sweep of the surrounding area. Only, it didn't seem to work.

Feeling a sense of curiosity bubble up inside of me, I reached out and gave the screen a series of tentative knocks. All that did was make the picture break up for a few seconds. I stood still for a minute, trying to make up my mind on what to do next. The decision was an obvious one, really.

"Hold on, where do you think you're going?" Clara shouted after me as I leapt towards the doors. I stopped, turning to face her.

"Isn't it obvious? We've just rebounded off the edge of the time vortex, which flung us out into a mysterious new place and the scanner is malfunctioning." I spread my arms, beckoning Clara to follow. "How could I resist?"

With an excited grin, I spun around, took the remaining few steps and exited the Tardis. I could hear Clara protesting behind me, but I wasn't about to go back in to listen to her moaning. There is a very particular level of thrill about not knowing where you've landed. It tends to take me back to days long gone, when all I did was wander around time and space without a clue where I'd end up next. Nowadays, these moments happen preciously rarely.

Leaving the doors open behind me, I used the light which emanated from the console room to take in my surroundings. It was a small, bare chamber with walls made of a dark metal alloy and a single door with a rectangular control panel beside it. There was a very dim light overhead, barely visible and flickering. "A storage room of some sort? Maybe we're on a spaceship? Or even a space station…" I mumbled to myself.

"Feels a bit… eerie," Clara's voice drifted over to me.

I turned around, placing my hands in my trouser pockets. She stood in the doorway of the Tardis, poking her head out cautiously. "Decided to join me at last, have you?"

"Only cause I'd probably have to drag you out of another dilemma if I'd left you wandering around alone," she claimed casually. Then she stretched her hand out, pointing the sonic screwdriver at me. "And because you forgot this. _Again_."

I plucked the device out of her hand without a word and placed it in an inside pocket of my coat. Then I cleared my throat. "Very good. I was meaning to go back in and get it."

"Of course you did." I couldn't detect if Clara was being sarcastic or not. She probably was. "So, where are we then?" she demanded.

I gave her a shrug. "No idea. I was thinking space station, but the gravity feels all wrong. Isn't artificial, so maybe we're in a research station of some sort. On the surface of a planet or a moon."

Clara sighed theatrically. "Well, now you're just guessing."

"Of course I am, that's part of the fun." I gave Clara a quick smile and then turned around, moving towards the door. A quick examination of the control panel told me that it was sealed shut. "Strange… Why would anyone go through all the trouble of locking an empty room?"

"Great, we're not getting any further. Can we leave now?"

"Are you joking? this is 53rd century technology! I could hack that door in my sleep."

I pried the covering off the control panel, revealing the wires and circuits within. Half a minute of tinkering and re-wiring later, the door slid open with a satisfying whooshing sound. "See? Easy peasy," I declared with a certain level of pride.

The next room was slightly more rewarding. For one, it was a fair amount larger and there were three doors, probably leading off to several different corridors. It even had a window. I strode over to it and glanced outside. There wasn't much to be seen. Just a flat, dusty surface interspersed with jagged rocks and a sky full of dim, blueish stars. "Well… at least we now know we're on a planet…"

Clara joined my side and squinted out at the nighttime scene. "Doesn't look very inviting though," she commented.

Suddenly, there was a clanging sound to the left, followed by a low hiss. Clara and I both whirled around, alarmed by the sudden noises. The door which we'd just come through had re-opened and was now slowly sliding shut again. We looked at each other with unease.

Clara was the first to speak again. "Okay… that was weird," she said slowly, cautiously.

I took a slow breath, considering the possibilities. "Could've been caused by my tinkering… A malfunction perhaps."

Clara stared at me with wide eyes. "You sure?"

"No," I admitted.

There was another clang, this time from the general direction of a work bench in a dark corner, not far away from the door. We both took an involuntary step back.

"Doctor…" Clara started hesitantly, "just hypothetically…"

I gave her a sideways glance. "Yes?"

"Just hypothetically… what if it wasn't a malfunction?"

I swallowed audibly. "Hypothetically… presumably… someone, or some_thing_… opening the door."

As if on cue, there was another sound from under the work bench. A sound which seemed alarmingly like a shuffling noise.

Slowly, we started moving backwards, unconsciously steering for another door set into the right hand side wall. Away from the Tardis, but also away from whatever was hiding in the shadows. Clara stretched her hand out towards me, touching my arm. I took it. For my comfort just as much as hers.

I could hear how her breathing was quickening, just as my hearts were starting to beat faster. "What was it you said?" She asked, staring straight ahead at the work bench. "Something about it being strange that someone would lock an empty room?"

Hesitating, I turned my head towards her. "I'm starting to suspect that room wasn't as empty as I thought it was," I said quietly, "And I think whatever was in there… is now in here."

As soon as the words had left my mouth, the shuffling started up again. Whatever had followed us out of that little room was now moving, creeping from shadow to shadow. Trying not to be seen. But most importantly, it was inching its way closer towards us. Judging by the sounds, it was now somewhere in the gloom between us and the chamber which contained the Tardis.

I felt how Clara's hand tightened around mine as we steadily inched our way backwards. Neither of us uttered a word as we strained our ears. It was quiet now. Too quiet. It was the sort of silence that came before something very bad.

My back connected with the wall. Clara and I stood rigid, peering into the seemingly empty space in front of us and an all-too-familiar sensation of dread was creeping its way up my spine. I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen all this before. A very long time ago, during a dark and lonely night. When a dream taught me about fear. Something had been there, watching me from the shadows. Waiting. Just as it did now.

And then it moved.

I felt rather than heard it. A change in the texture of the room, a displacement of the air around us. I leapt, slamming my flat hand on the door control and shoved Clara through the opening, following her closely. Whirling around, I whipped out the screwdriver and fried the controls on the other side with a sonic blast. The door slid shut and a fraction of a second later, something collided with it.

The impact was forceful enough to leave an indentation in the metal.

"That… was a close one," I heard Clara breathe beside me, voice shaky.

Stepping backwards slowly, I kept the door in my sight. "It isn't over yet," I told her. "Whatever this creature is, it knows how to open doors. This one might be disabled now, but there are other ways out of that room. And something tells me it won't give up so easily…"

"Yep, I think I got that impression too." Clara let out a long breath. "Fine mess you got us into again, Doctor."

I shot her a quick glare. Of course she was right, she's always right. But I wasn't about to admit that. "Come on," I declared, beckoning her to follow and marched off.

The door we'd so hastily fled through had lead us into a long, dark corridor. The lights in the ceiling were just as feeble and flickery as they'd been in the previous two rooms. This place seemed to be running on its very last power reserves. Using the sonic screwdriver as a torch, we made our way past endless rows of doors in silence. The green light made the shadows dance eerily.

"This place seems to be totally deserted," Clara pointed out, her voice echoing unnaturally loud in the stillness. "If this is a research station, I wonder where everybody went…"

"My thoughts exactly." I nodded in agreement. "Possibly something to do with our mysterious friend back there."

Clara gave me one of her big-eyed looks. "Possibly?"

"Probably," I corrected myself.

We carried on along the passageway, an uneasy silence hanging over our heads. Soon, we reached the far end of the corridor, where we were met with another closed doorway. I bent forward to examine its control panel. "Unlocked," I announced. "Shall we?"

Clara exhaled a shaky breath. "Might as well. We can't exactly turn around, can we?"

Taking a step aside for caution, I placed my hand on the door control gingerly. It slid open.

"Oh god…" Clara gasped, staring ahead in shock.

Displayed in front of us was a very unpleasant scene. It was another room, larger than the two we'd been in previously, packed full of sophisticated equipment. At the front, there were two pilot's seats and a wide row of windows.

A flight deck. And the middle of its floor was stained with dark crimson.

I could see the telltale signs of a struggle: papers strewn all across the floor, damaged equipment, ripped wires which were spewing sparks into the air… and not least, the blood. I couldn't help but wonder where the body had gone…

As if reading my mind, Clara asked: "Is that… what I think it is?"

"Depends on what you think it is," I said.

"Dark, red, lots of it… I think I can guess," she declared, wrapping her arms around herself in obvious discomfort. "The more we see of this place the less I like it."

Taking caution not to step on any of the live wires, we made our way onto the flight deck. Clara stayed close to the door, apprehensively watching me as I crouched down in front of the dried-up puddle, amidst the mess of papers and sparking wires. I didn't blame her for wanting to stay away from it. After a moment of contemplation, I fished out the sonic screwdriver and tossed it over to her. "If you're already standing around there, you might as well make yourself useful," I declared.

Clara regarded me disbelievingly. "You want me to lock us in here? With… that?" she vaguely gestured at the blood stain.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're being chased by a potentially very dangerous creature with incredible hiding skills, which unfortunately knows how to use the door controls. If we don't want any nasty surprises, we need to seal all the entrances. At the very least it'll buy us some time to figure out what to do next. And here's as good a place as any to do that," I responded, shrugging. "If you have a better idea, do please enlighten me."

We glared at each other for what seemed like an endless moment. Finally, Clara gave a frustrated huff. "I hate it when you're right," she sighed and turned around to lock the two entrances.

"So do I," I murmured in response. If she heard me, she didn't let it show.

While the sonic screwdriver buzzed away behind me, I leaned forward and examined the floor, letting my mind wander. A murder scene without a body. An abandoned spaceship. A mysterious creature which can become one with the shadows… I remembered the feeling I'd experienced in the previous room, just before the attack. The uneasy sensation of being watched. And how it had reminded me of the bad old days, way back when.

A nasty suspicion was forming in my mind. A _very_ nasty suspicion.

"Doctor?"

Clara's exclamation pulled me out of my reverie. "Hm?" I said, looking up. She was standing right next to me, holding something out in front of my face. I had to lean back to focus on it.

"Found it on the floor over there," Clara explained, handing the device over to me. "Definitely looks useful. It's a bit like a tape recorder, isn't it?"

"It certainly is!" Standing up, I turned the little black box this way and that, smiling. "Clara Oswald, whatever would I do without you?"

"Knowing you? You'd probably be in a prison somewhere," she answered, a smirk playing on her lips too. "So, what is it?"

I handed the little apparatus back to her. "Just as you said. A tape recorder. Or rather, a portable log. Standard equipment for officers on Vinvocci trade ships in this time period… and judging from that little yellow light, it still has a bit of power left."

"So," Clara stated, "maybe whoever lost this recorded something important. Something that could help us understand what's going on here. What do you think?"

I shifted my gaze to the little gadget. "I'd say it's worth a try."

"Err," she hesitated, eyeing the recording device. "How d'you switch it on, exactly? It doesn't have any buttons."

"It's voice-activated," I explained.

"Oh." Clara held the black cuboid up in front of her face and eyed it with suspicion. "Err… play the last log?" she tried. Nothing happened. I smirked and held out my hand, wriggling my fingers. She wordlessly handed it over, but not without giving me a glare.

"Command: input," I stated when I held it up in front of my own face. The device gave two short blips. "Command: Access archive, play most recent entry." Another bleeping noise emanated from within the gadget, followed by a buzz.

Clara stepped next to me. "Show off."

"Shush," I hissed.

Then, the device started speaking:_ "This is Chief Scientist Keem reporting, log number… Oh, never mind. To hell with protocol!" _It was a woman's voice, heavily breathing and clearly agitated. She'd probably been running from something. _"Whoever you are… listen: This place isn't safe. You got as far as the flight deck, but I urge you: Turn around. Leave. Abandon this planet, because all you'll find here is death." _

A shaky sigh emanated from the speakers before Chief Scientist Keem continued. _"I… we should've known. As soon as we landed, we should've realized. We're… we were a research team sent out to examine this planet for valuable minerals. A team of thirty highly trained people… At first we'd assumed that this planet was empty. Nothing more than a cold rock, floating in space. But we were wrong. Oh, so wrong… We should have left after the first casualty. Instead, tragic as it was, we believed that it'd been an accident. An unfortunate fall, hit his head, we said… Things like that happen all the time, we said. And we carried on. Same with the second death, and the third… Blamed it on bad luck. It took us far too long to accept that something was wrong. And by that time, it was far too late." _

For a while, there was a strained silence. All we could hear was the Chief Scientist's heavy breathing. Clara and I stared at each other with wide eyes. Then it continued. _"I don't have much time. They're everywhere. Listening. Waiting… You might think you're alone, you might believe that you're safe in here. But you don't know them. These… creatures are silent. They hide so well they become invisible. You won't hear them coming unless they want you to… And they're everywhere. I… think I managed to lock one of them into a storage unit, but I can't be sure if it didn't slip past me. Because that's the thing: They toy with you. They scare you. They watch you as you run for your life and then they leave you in peace. Only to pounce when you believe you're safe. And then they drag your dead body away… to do who knows what with it. It's probably their idea of fun…"_

A sudden scraping noise made Clara and me jump. I almost wasn't sure if it had come from the recording device… or from behind us.

_"They're here," _the voice of Keem whispered. _"Please, if you've listened this far: Run. Run for your life. Leave before they can get to you. And don't look for them. Don't look back. Nobody who's ever set their eyes on one of these creatures has lived to tell the tale. They want to stay hidden, at all costs. Listen. Please, just liste–" _

All of a sudden, Keem's words were cut short. A quick examination of her log revealed that the power had gone out. Used up. Silence fell upon Clara and me once more, like a veil. I strained my ears, but there wasn't a sound to be heard. Except for our own breathing. One thing, one very important thing had changed though: The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Once again, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. And this time, I definitely wasn't imagining it.

"Clara, I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I might have made a very big mistake… We should never have come here."

"You can say that again," Clara answered in an equally quiet voice. "The… blood. On the floor. That's hers, isn't it? Those creatures killed her…"

I slowly let my gaze move across to the red patch on the floor. "Almost certainly."

At my answer, she drew in a shaky breath. "Okay… what are we going to do now?"

"Remember Rupert?" I asked, turning my eyes on her.

I watched as Clara's expression became somber. "Don't call him that. He hated that name."

"Fair enough… But you remember the children's home. The kid in the bedspread," I stated. There wasn't a point in asking. She clearly recalled it.

"The one you thought wasn't a kid at all? Yeah," she answered, staring at me nervously.

"What if it wasn't?"

As soon as I'd said it, the familiar fear returned from the pit of my stomach. This was one of the rare moments in which I hoped that I was wrong. But the evidence was too clear. There simply couldn't be this many coincidences all at once. I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt a shiver run down my spine.

What if my theory was correct after all? What if there _were_ creatures who had evolved the perfect hiding skill? What if they'd beenthere, in in Orson's time travel capsule? What if whatever had knocked me out there had done so deliberately?

What if that dream I had as a child so many centuries ago wasn't a dream at all?

"Doctor… _listen_." Clara's hushed warning pulled me out of my reverie. Then I heard it.

A subtle, repetitive scraping sound from an especially dark corner of the flight deck. Chief Scientist Keem's words repeated themselves in my head: '_They toy with you. They scare you. They watch you as you run for your life and then they leave you in peace. Only to pounce when you believe you're safe…'_

I held my breath. My gaze was fixed on the source of the sound, that dark, still corner… No, not still. Very much alive. I wasn't sure if I was just imagining it, but I thought I could detect the slightest of movements… I was transfixed. I didn't want to look, but at the same time, I couldn't tear my eyes away. Fear and fascination, jumbled up into one big, horrible mess inside of me, making me freeze in place. I wanted to run, but at the same time, I wanted to know. I _had _to know for sure. I needed to see these creatures with my own eyes. If only to assure myself that all these years of seeing things in the dark hadn't been a silly childhood fantasy gone wild.

"What if I was right all along?" I whispered, taking a step forward.

I suddenly felt a light grip on my arm, which made me jump. I whirled around and was met with the blazing gaze of Clara. She'd grabbed my arm with her free hand. With the other, she still held the sonic screwdriver. "Doctor, please just forget your stupid sense of curiosity for one second and listen to me: You heard the recording. If we see even a glimpse of that creature, it'll kill us. So we need to run. _Now," _she ordered in a firm tone of voice. "I know you're terrified, because so am I. But this isn't the time or the place for us to lose our heads!"

I stared at her as my thoughts were kicked into gear again. "Y-yes. Of course," I stammered, then caught myself. "Sorry. Got carried away."

"Yeah, sounds just like you to get carried away in a life-or-death situation," she scolded me and turned to the door we'd come through not long ago.

I jumped forward, hand held up in the air. "No, not through there!"

"But the Tardis is this way!" she protested.

"Yes, but as you remember, I fried the door controls on the other end. A detour will be faster than trying to fix those circuits," I pointed out. "Now give me the sonic screwdriver."

Clara huffed. "Typical." But she didn't protest. Instead, she did as I told her and handed the device over to me. I opened the door.

And then we ran.

As we raced through a network of corridors and rooms, our hands clasped in a death grip because neither of us wanted to let go of the other, the ship around us erupted in a cacophony of creaks and scrapes and howls. They seemed to be coming from everywhere: left, right, above and below, straight ahead and from behind us. From the corner of my eye, I could see the creatures moving, running along us, swishing in and out of shadows. But as soon as I dared a glance, there wasn't a thing to be seen.

Finally, we arrived in a big, open space. Sliding to a halt, I locked the entrance by shortly applying the sonic screwdriver. A bang came from the other side. Clara and I took a step backwards.

But nothing happened. In fact, the ship slowly fell silent.

Only our ragged gasps could be heard as we tried to get our breath back. "I think I liked it better when they were still making all that racket," Clara stated in a strained voice.

"No argument there," I agreed.

We slowly turned around, hands still in a firm grip. Trying not to think about what could be hiding in here, I let my gaze wander. It seemed we had reached some sort of loading bay. The place was packed full of crates in various sizes and assorted clutter which had been ripped out and flung around the room. Several red patches on the floor gave an only too clear picture of what had happened here.

"So…" Clara started, "I'm guessing the Tardis is probably behind one of those?" She pointed at a row of eight doors set into the walls in front of us.

"I have no idea," I said sourly. "I don't automatically know the layout of every spaceship we happen to land on. All I do know is that we're in the loading area, which means it has to be around here somewhere."

Unfazed, Clara nodded. "Okay, we'll do it methodically, then. Open each of the doors and look at what's behind it."

"We could, but that'd also mean we'd potentially walk right into a deathtrap. But seeing as there's no other way of finding… oh." I let go of Clara's hand and turned, facing her. "Ooooooh, yes!"

She eyed me suspiciously. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" I said with a grin. "In fact, it's the opposite of wrong! Remember that message from future me?"

Clara's frown deepened "Err… no?"

"That message online! Future me sent a message into the past to warn me about something!"

"Oh! The number two message?" she asked, her eyes widening in realization. "Wait, how did it go? Something about remembering 'number two'… or something."

"'Number two is the only right way you can go',"I corrected. "I'm guessing with 'number two' he means the second door."

"One big problem though," Clara pointed out. "How can you be sure that it was the door he meant and not something else?"

"Educated guess," I answered, vaguely waving my arms. "But what else could it be? Here we are, with no clue as to where the right way to the Tardis is and future me just happened to send me an ominous message last week. I don't believe in that many coincidences. Do you?"

Clara still didn't seem convinced. "You did send a message into the past by accident once."

"That doesn't count," I protested. "I had a ridiculously high fever and was a bit… muddled."

"Okay, fair enough." She gave in, holding her hands up in defeat. "But, assuming the other you meant to tell us that we should use the second door, which second door did he mean? The second from the right or the second from the left?"

I paused for a moment, contemplating what she'd just said. "Good point," I told her finally. "There has to be a clue somewhere. A riddle."

Clara gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Riddles? _You?_ Seriously, the shortness of your attention span would rival that of a goldfish. You'd never have the patience to think up a riddle, unless… unless it's _blatantly _obvious." She ceased the stream of commentaries and crossed her arms, looking thoughtful for a moment. "So… keeping it dead simple… Sorry, can you repeat the sentence?"

"'Number two is the only right way you can go'," I said dutifully, watching her with interest.

"There we have it!" she exclaimed, a smile on her wide face. "You're the sort of person who likes things to be short and precise, which makes you a lazy writer. You could've just written _'it's the only right way'_ and it would've been just as clear. So why add another three words if you could've done without them?"

"The second door from the _right_… Of course!" I strode over to said doorway, turning around about halfway there to return the smile. "Clara Oswald, you are a genius!"

"More like _you_ are not as much of a genius as you think you are," she shot back.

I was about to give her a piece of my mind when there was a sudden bang from beyond the wall. Slowly but surely, the racket all through the ship started up again. I'd almost forgotten about _them. _"Let's discuss that later," I said.

"Yeah… let's," Clara agreed.

With another boost of adrenalin, I ran to the correct exit, Clara following closely behind. As we shot through the doorway, we once again found us in the place we'd started from originally: The second room, the one with the windows. A short glance outside told me that dawn was coming. The murky grey of night had shifted to a purplish almost-light and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Not far."

Once again grabbing Clara's hand, I pulled her along through the room and into the small storage unit. My hearts skipped a beat at the familiar sight of brilliant blue wood. But as I moved to get the last few steps behind me, I suddenly felt a pull on my arm.

Clara had stopped abruptly and wasn't following. I was about to turn around, when I heard her voice, laced with fear. "Doctor, stop… Don't turn around."

I froze, realization dawning. "No…" I breathed.

"Don't turn around," she repeated, tightening her grip on my hand. "I think… I think one of them just grabbed my jacket."

Feeling an ice cold sense of dread fill my chest, I closed my eyes and returned Clara's grip in the hopes of reassuring her. Then, keeping my eyelids shut, I slowly started turning. I could hear how Clara sucked in a breath.

Hearts thumping in my chest, I started talking to the creature. "You there, the one behind Clara. I know you can hear me and I know you can understand me, so listen: I'm going to turn around now," I said quickly. "I've got my eyes closed. I promise I won't look at you. I know you want to stay hidden." The seconds seemed to stretch as I turned, until I faced Clara. Slowly but firmly, I pried my hand out of hers and took a step closer. "Clara, I'm going to put my hands on your shoulders now. Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Relax."

"Okay," she answered, her voice sounding firm and certain. The contrary proved to be true, as I felt her shiver when I placed my palms on her shoulders. Almost immediately, she bent forward until her forehead rested against my chest. I felt how the fear inside of me slowly gave way to anger.

"Now back to _you_," I addressed the creature, keeping my eyes firmly shut. " I don't know who you are. And I don't know why you killed all the people on this spaceship. I don't know if they were threatening you, if you were scared of them or if you just like to kill things. I sincerely hope it isn't the latter. But me and my friend, we're not the same as them. We don't have a mission. We don't mean you any harm. We arrived here by accident and all we want to do is leave _peacefully_." I paused, letting my words sink in, hoping they were making a difference. "I promise we won't ever return. Just please, let my friend go and we'll leave you in peace."

The creature didn't make a sound, but I could feel from the way Clara was standing desperately still that it hadn't let go. It could understand me, the Tardis translation circuit was making sure of that. So either it was listening to my words and was too fascinated to move…

Or it was playing with us like a cat would play with a mouse, ready to break our necks.

I strongly suspected the latter.

Still, I seemed to have its attention. Maybe a change of plan would do the trick. So I continued in a hushed tone of voice: "Of course, if you won't let my friend go, we might have to do this the hard way." I felt Clara twitch ever so slightly under my touch. It was a gamble, I knew. But right now, the creature was far too fascinated to do anything rash. Or so I hoped. "It might surprise you to know that I met you before. I've known you all my life… I used to fear you. Oh yes, you used to be my worst nightmare. Creatures hiding in the dark, unseen but still there, watching, always watching. You were the monster under my bed, the terror in my bedroom walls, making noises, moving, scheming. But then I told myself that you were just a nightmare. That you weren't real. I stopped being afraid of you, because dreams can't hurt you, because dreams are just fantasy. And then I met you again… And I found out that you were real after all."

I stopped again, straining my ears. Everything was silent. Even the rest of the sounds beyond this room had ceased. They were all listening. "At first I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they're peaceful, I thought. Maybe they're just scared. Maybe they're as afraid of being seen as I was of seeing them. Maybe they were just defending themselves. But you know what? Now I'm not so sure. I think you're playing with us. I think you're mocking us. Just like you did with all those poor people who landed here, not knowing any better. Before you killed them. I think, no, I'm _certain_ that the only reason we're still alive is because I entertain you. Because I beg. Because I talk. You probably think I'm funny… ha-ha-ha."

I let the sarcastic laugh hang in the air for a moment, then started talking again, raising my voice. "But there is one very important thing you should know about me… I'm very good at talking. And if there is one thing you should never, ever do… it's letting me talk!"

Just as the last syllable left my mouth, I sprang into action. Gripping Clara's jacket firmly on both sides, I pushed it off her shoulders, then grabbed her and yanked her away. She gave a surprised yelp. The creature howled in frustration as it was left holding the empty garment and I could make out the scrabbling noises of its feet as it leapt for us. Not daring to look back, I whirled around, grabbed Clara's arm and pulled her with me as I quickly closed the distance between us and the Tardis, flicking my fingers.

The doors opened. I pushed Clara into the console room in front of me, followed her and slammed the doors shut.

A fraction of a second later, there was a bang from the outside. Then another and another until the whole room was rocking from side to side. They were trying to tip the Tardis over. "Doctor, get us out of here!" I could hear Clara shout over the noise.

Adrenalin still pumping through my system, I raced up to the console and hammered in the first coordinates which came to mind. "Pull the lever," I instructed Clara, who reached out and did just that.

The familiar wheezing sound of the engines had seldom sounded more musical to my ears than it did in that moment. Slowly but surely, the rocking stopped. The frantic squabbling and banging ceased and soon, we found ourselves in full flight, racing through the time Vortex.

Even so, I didn't dare relax until we'd safely arrived at our destination.

Heaving a long sigh, I stumbled backwards and let myself sink against the console. I glanced to the left of me, where Clara stood, hunched over and supporting herself with her hands, gripping the edge of the flight control panel. "Are you okay?" I asked her, still breathing heavily.

"No," she said and looked up. Her face was as pale as a sheet. I probably didn't look any better. "What about you?"

"Not remotely," I answered truthfully.

She gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah, you look it."

"So do you," I shot back.

We stood there for a few long moments, staring at each other. I was quite certain that she was feeling as miserable as I was. "Sorry about the jacket," I declared finally.

Clara sighed and shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll get a new one."

"Right," I said, not sure how else to respond. Once again, neither of us talked.

This time it was Clara who broke the ice. "Doctor… let's never do that again, okay?" She told me, giving me a tired look. "Next time we end up somewhere mysterious, let's just leave."

I gave a short nod. After that ordeal, I'd definitely lost my sense of adventure for a while. Just thinking about it sent a shiver up my spine. So I decided to change the subject. "You're home, by the way," I said, trying to keep my voice cheerful. It didn't work very well.

Clara glanced at the doors for a moment, then back at me, crossing her arms. "Can I… Can I stay here for the night?" She seemed clearly uncomfortable. "Only... I really don't fancy being alone in my flat right now…"

I nodded again, smirking half-heartedly. To be honest, I was grateful that she'd asked. I didn't tell her, but I could do with the company too. "Tell you what," I declared, feeling my spirits rise again. "I'll ask the old girl to set up the bunk bed."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Clara gave a chuckle, a little of the old shine returning to her eyes. "I get the top bunk though."

"Only if you don't roll off, round as you are," I replied.

"Oi, be nice," Clara said, grinning

I couldn't help but return a smile. "Never."


	4. The Mind-Prowlers

_A quick summary of the things which lead up to this story: _

_To hide from a group of mysterious attackers, the Doctor turned himself into a human being with the help of the chameleon arch. The Doctor's own self was stored in a fob watch. What he didn't anticipate though was that Malcolm Tucker, his human counterpart, would receive a series of anonymous messages by a person who seemed to know everything about the Doctor's plans. The strange anon convinced Malcolm to open the fob watch, which caused the Doctor's Time Lord self to reappear far too soon. _

_Sensing his brain pattern, the attackers caught up with the Doctor, made their way into the Tardis and took over his mind. _

_(You can read the whole series of events on the Doctor's tumblr blog "ask-crotchety-twelve". Just click on "Story Archive" at the bottom of the sidebar and you'll find a link called "Malcolm Tucker" listed there.)_

* * *

**THE MIND-PROWLERS  
**

It's an unsettling feeling, to have your mind taken over by another. To look out at the universe through your own eyes, but to have no control over your actions, regardless how much you resist and scream and fight for command. To watch helplessly as someone else, someone who most definitely means you harm, makes their way to your best friend's home.

So, you'll understand when I say that I was _frightened. _Very frightened. But not for my sake or even the universe's… but for Clara's.

The Time Lords call them the _Mind-Prowlers_, though they have many names in many different worlds. Most cultures in the universe call them demons, some call them parasites, some even gods. But whatever name you want to give them, the fact still stands that they are one of the most dangerous races in the universe. They are a parasitic life form, a powerful thought-construct made of many individual parts, which survives through finding host minds it can feed off. They suck up information, they grow, they gain power with every host mind they destroy, after which they move on to the next. And if they manage to get hold of the wrong mind… That of a time traveller, perhaps… things might look very bleak indeed.

Which is exactly what they managed.

I'd originally planned to hide from them. I don't know where they came from or how they found me, but they did. And they knew I was a Time Lord. They knew I had a Tardis and they knew what a Tardis was. Before I realized what was happening, they'd locked onto my brain signature. I needed to play for time. I needed to put them off my scent so I'd have enough time to figure out a way to stop them. And I did that in the only way possible: Using the chameleon arch and turning myself into a human.

I materialized the Tardis in a remote village in the Scottish highlands, making sure that every resident had mysteriously won a ticket on a cruise ship and wasn't around for the next month or two. The memories and personality of the human I'd turn into, I left to random generation.

A mistake, as I soon found out. The chameleon arch made use of all my pent-up anger and well… The result was Malcolm Tucker. I don't desire to get into the details, but it ended with him changing back into me far too soon. Which is why the Mind-Prowlers found me.

I didn't stand a chance. As soon as they'd detected my brain signature again, they attacked with full force.

Trying to warn Clara, I sent her a message and told her not to trust me. I managed to lock that memory away from the Prowlers, along with as many crucial bits of information as I could collect. Including the fact that I'd still managed to maintain the psychic connection to my Tardis… Then, all I could do was to retreat, hide in my own mind, build protective walls around my consciousness and to let them take over. They were just too strong. Had I fought any longer, they would have most likely destroyed me.

And so, here I was. Trapped in my own head, having to watch as _they _stepped out of the Tardis and into Clara's living room…

"Clara!" the not-me-Doctor said, quite possibly trying and failing to give her a charming smile. "You look good today!"

What a terrible bunch of imitators. I focused my concentration on Clara's features, searching for any sign of suspicion. Any twinkle in her eye, any twitch of her mouth. But there was nothing. To the contrary, she stood there with her brightest smile, nodding at the compliment.

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, crossing her arms. "Bit of a nice thing for you to say though… what's up with you today? You're awfully cheerful."

"Had a particularly nice day," the not-me-Doctor replied.

Clara cocked her head. "Oh? Well, great for you." There was a moment of silence, after which Clara jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Well, since you're here and all… Fancy a cup of tea?" she asked.

"Why not?" the not-me-Doctor replied.

Clara was about to turn around and head for the kitchen, but froze, turning her eyes upwards. "Bit embarrassing, but I just can't remember: How many sugars?"

"Err… two, thanks," they replied, after only a bit of hesitation.

_Gotcha,_ I thought in the privacy of my own head as Clara gave a short nod and walked off. That was all the conformation I needed. She hadn't trusted the man in front of her and had tested her theory with the old tea-trick. Clever, _clever_ Clara.

Meanwhile, the not-me-Doctor turned around and started inspecting Clara's souvenir shelf. They were just turning a particularly valuable piece of memorabilia from Akhaten around in their fingers, when I decided to act. Clara'd had ample time to make her way to the kitchen and duck out of sight.

I concentrated. Using my connection to the Tardis, I managed to reach the telepathic interface in the console room, which allowed me to expand my consciousness to a far greater distance than usually possible. It didn't take me long to detect Clara's presence nearby… With a little nudge in the right direction by the Tardis, of course.

_Clara_, I thought, hoping the connection was strong enough for my words to reach her mind. _Clara, whatever you do, don't scream. Don't speak or otherwise act out of the ordinary, understood?_

There was no reply. I was just about to try again, when a sudden mix of annoyance and relief washed over me, along with the words: _God, Doctor! You almost made me drop the bat! How are you doing this?_

I was going to send back a clever remark, but something made me hesitate. _Wait, bat? What bat? _I asked her, curiosity getting the better of me.

_Cricket bat, _she replied.

I frowned. Or rather, I would have frowned if I'd had a face to do the frowning with. _What do you need a cricket bat for? Why do you even have a cricket bat?_

_Gran's idea. Best defense against burglars, she always says. Anyway, you didn't exactly give me a whole lot of information, so excuse you for making me panic! _

_You were going to knock me out?! _I mentally growled at her, feeling exasperated.

_You were the one who told me not to trust you! _Clara shot back.

_Yes, but knock me out? There's someone else in my head, controlling my body. How exactly did you think knocking me out would help? What did you think you'd accomplish with that? Catapult them out of my ears perhaps? Give them a headache?_

Clara sent another wave of annoyance my way. _I didn't exactly have a choice, did I? _There was a quick pause. _By the way, how do I know you're you and not… whoever it is who's controlling your body?_

_Coffee, not tea and seven sugars at the very least._

_Fair enough. _

Right at that moment, I was distracted by movement. The not-me-Doctor's eyes had turned up to the clock in clara's living room. They were starting to get impatient.. Sensing that time was running short, I sent another stream of thoughts in Clara's direction.

_Clara, listen! They're getting suspicious!_

_They?_

I sighed inwardly. _Shut up! Or do you want them to notice us? It's taking me a lot of effort to hide this conversation from them, so stop talking and listen! _

Not sensing a reply from her, I felt it safest to just move on. _We don't have much time. Not long now and they'll notice that something's wrong. I won't be able to hide our psychic connection for long. But don't worry, I have a plan._

_First good news all day, _Clara responded, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

_Shush, _I shot back, _Shut it and stay shut, understand? I need your full concentration on this. Now, listen: This is how we'll do it…_

* * *

"Here you go, Doctor! Tea."

Clara handed a steaming hot cup to the not-me-Doctor, who grabbed it and discreetly inspected its contents. "Thank you," they said finally, glancing back up at Clara, "Took your time though. Did something… go wrong?"

Clara didn't miss a beat. "Nah, was just out of teabags. Found some in a drawer though," she said, taking a sip of her own cup.

"Lucky," the not-me Doctor pointed out.

Clara nodded in response. "Very," she answered and gave a lightning-fast smile.

They stood there in a, I must point out, rather awkward silence, both sipping at their respective cups. As a bystander who couldn't intervene in any way, it was quite a painful thing to witness.

Clara was the first to put her tea aside and speak up. "Sooo," she said, drawing out the o's as she turned back around, "Why did you show up again? It's not like you usually come round for afternoon tea and biscuits."

The not-me-Doctor gave a huff, probably meant as an amused sort of laugh. Although it was difficult to tell, as I couldn't see their face and therefore didn't know if they were smiling. All the same, they also put down their cup, leaving it on the tabletop half-finished. They rubbed their hands together gleefully and said, "That's what I wanted to show you." They gave a nod towards the Tardis. "What do you think? How about a little outing?"

Clara gave them her best smile. "Absolutely!" she exclaimed, eyes all big and shiny. I must say, the theatre had lost a great talent the day Clara had decided to become a teacher. She was _good_.

The not-me-Doctor gave a flourishing hand-movement in the general direction of the Tardis, keeping their eyes locked with Clara's. They were watching her closely. One wrong step and this whole game would blow up in our faces. The fact that all I could do was to sit and watch didn't help in the least. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was nervous. And so was Clara, judging from the signals I received over my psychic connection to her.

Meanwhile, Clara had opened the Tardis doors with all the good spirits she usually displayed at the prospect of another trip. Maybe even a little more than usual…

I felt it necessary to step in._ Okay, don't overdo it, Clara! We don't want them to get suspicious, _I warned her telepathically.

It didn't take long for her answer to return. Needless to say that it was full of acid. _Thanks for the advice, Doctor, but I've got it all under control! _she shot back.

"Under control, eh? My dear girl, you have nothing under control!"

Both Clara and me stopped abruptly. This voice hadn't come from either of us. This voice had come from outside. It was my voice. But not _mine_ exactly. It sounded decidedly too English to be _my_ voice.

Through the short discussion Clara and I'd had, the not-me-Doctor had stared down at the Tardis controls, pressing random buttons in a fruitless effort to find the flight controls. I knew that because I'd managed to hide the "how-to" of flying the Tardis with me behind my mental barriers. The Mind-Prowlers had no idea which button did what.

A thing they wanted to find out about, no doubt. Anyhow, they'd stopped pressing buttons and were looking up now, continuing to speak. "And you, Doctor…" they said in a terribly arrogant tone of voice. They weren't even bothering with the Scottish accent anymore, which irked me even more than the haughtiness. "Did you really think we wouldn't discover your psychic link with your little friend here sooner or later? You're good, but you're not _that_ good."

I kept my metaphorical mouth shut. They desperately wanted to get me to talk. Because communicating with them would mean opening a gap in my mental barriers, in their direction. And if I did that, they would most definitely be able to invade my last safe space and wipe me from my own mind.

Seeing as they wouldn't get anything from me, they decided to address Clara, who was still standing and glaring fiercely at them. "And you…" they began, "You're cleverer than you look. How did you know I wasn't your _precious_ Doctor?"

"Coffee, not tea. And seven sugars at the very least," she replied and raised her eyebrows. "You obviously don't know the Doctor too well."

A short, sharp laugh echoed through the console room. "Why would you think that?" the not-me-Doctor inquired. "We're in his head. We've got his memories."

"Obviously not all of them."

"We have enough."

This time, it was Clara's turn to laugh._ "Enough? _Two sugars. That's how most people take their tea. That's how _I_ take my tea. But the Doctor isn't most people. You picked an average for a man whose every fiber is _far from_ average."

The not-me-Doctor shook their head and tutted. "Foiled by tea…" they sighed with an amused undertone.

"You can say what you like about the British, but we take our tea seriously. Coffee, in his case," she rambled on, another smile playing on her lips. "But then again, he isn't British, is he? Not even human."

For a quick moment, the not-me-Doctor's gaze turned to the floor, possibly in contemplation, possibly in annoyance. Possibly, the Mind-Prowlers were having a private argument. Maybe they were re-thinking their approach…

The latter turned out to be true. "Show me how to fly the Tardis," they hissed suddenly, head shooting up and eyes glaring, I was sure of that. They were now moving on to threats instead of sweet-talking. And if the threats didn't work, they would undoubtedly move on to violence, maybe even try to take over _her_ mind…

What was I thinking, this was Clara. Threats would never work on her. Either way, violence was a risk we had to take…

_Don't tell them anything, _I warned her.

"Oh, don't try to be clever!" the not-me-Doctor shouted in fury. "We sensed you talking! We know about your little plan to stop us. You were going to trick us into using the telepathic interface, under the pretense that _it_ was the flight control. Upon which we would have been expelled into the Time Vortex through it. But we know now. There is nothing you can do about it! And It. Won't. _Work." _

Simultaneously with the last snarled word, their hand shot forward and forcefully grabbed Clara's arm. A yelp escaped her, as the not-me-Doctor yanked her forcefully towards themself, yelling "Now show me!"

"Forget it!" Clara declared, trying to wriggle herself out of the iron grip.

"All right. Fine. If _you_ won't tell me…" They pulled Clara even closer, grabbing her neck with their other hand, thumb stretched out above her throat, ready to squeeze. A wave of horror washed over me. I hadn't expected them to become this hostile in such a short amount of time. They weren't even going to _try_ to threaten me or Clara. They were going to kill her without even blinking…

Before I realized what I was doing, I opened up a psychic link to the Mind-Prowlers, sending a wave of fury towards them.

Clara must've sensed what I was doing, because through all the noise in my head, I could hear her voice croak "Doctor, _don't!_"

But it was too late. The Mind-Prowlers engulfed me before I could retreat back into my hidey-hole. Within moments, they'd grabbed the rest of my memories and sucked them hungrily into their being. Then they started feeding on my consciousness. All I could hear was their manic laughter. I was losing the last feeble strands of control I'd managed to maintain, but I tried fighting, tried holding on… A fruitless exercise.

Suddenly, through the haze that surrounded me and the dwindling input from my senses, I noticed Clara. She was still there, in front of me. Both my thumbs pressing down on her throat now, nothing I could do about it. Tears running down her cheeks. And her hand, hovering above the Tardis console. And through all the the whirling, distracting thoughts, I remembered. Not the diversion, but our _true_ plan.

_CLARA, NOW! _I bellowed through the remains of our psychic link, hoping that it was still strong enough to carry the message.

It was. Her hand slammed down onto the button and the Tardis console sprang open. Snake-like strands of yellowish, glowing light danced across my field of vision and therefore, across the not-me-Doctor's too.

Their hands grew limp on Clara's throat, as they stared into the heart of the Tardis… and forgot everything around them. Including me. Trying not to concentrate on the sight in front of me, I regained control over my senses. I heard how Clara stumbled to the side, coughing frantically, then falling to her hands an knees. In that moment, there was nothing I would've rather done than to rush over to her and see if she was allright. But I couldn't take full control of my body. Not yet. Not while the Mind-Prowlers were still here.

_Do you see it, _I whispered to them, _The light. Do you feel the calmness?_

"Yes… yes, we do…" they answered, in a trance. "What… what is it?"

_It's the heart of the Tardis, _I replied.

"It's beautiful…"

_Yes, it is. And can you hear it? It's inviting you. Don't you want to join it?_

"Yes… yes, we… we… No!" A sudden backlash of fury hit me as the Mind-Prowlers realized what was happening. "No, Doctor, curse you! _What are you doing to us?_"

_I'm not doing anything, _I informed them, _You're looking into the heart of the Tardis and she has latched on to you. There's no escape. I don't know what she'll do to you, but one thing I'm sure of: You will never be a threat to anyone ever again. It's over!_

The not-me-Doctor gasped as they tried to turn away from the light. But they'd lost control. The Tardis had them in her grip and there was nothing they could do about it. "No! NO!" they shouted in a mantra, sending out powerful bursts of psychic energy at their new threat. But with no avail. Kicking and screaming, they were being pulled from my mind.

And I was finally regaining control over my body. "Don't try to struggle, it'll just make it more painful for you," I told them matter-of-factly as I felt them reach out towards my consciousness again, hearing them hiss the words _Curse you, Doctor! Curse you! _inside my head.

Suddenly, with a burst of energy I didn't know they still possessed, they pounced and took another desperate grab at my mind, all the while screaming. Before I knew it, I felt myself being pulled with them, as they were being totally absorbed by the Tardis. There was a terrible moment of uncertainty as I felt how my consciousness left my mind, hovering outside my body, as it was about to be pulled along with the Mind-Prowlers, into the yellow glow.

I let out an agonized scream, trying and failing to turn my eyes from the sight in front of me.

Then, suddenly… nothing. I blinked. I looked down. Saw Clara's worried eyes, spotted her hand on the console. Which was now shut. She'd shut it. She'd shut it just in time…

"Thank you," I muttered.

And then everything went dark.

* * *

**ADDENDUM**

I think I might have to explain some things... It occurs to me I might not have described certain circumstances quite as clearly as I thought.

I wasn't going to include anything more in the account of our latest adventure, because nothing of interest happened after I fell unconscious. I woke up only moments later, with Clara by my side, smacking my cheek. And I'm sure you don't want to hear about how I spend the following days in the Tardis with a series of crippling migraines.

Anyway, I sort of left out the part where Clara and I had a secret discussion while she was brewing the tea… We decided on using our psychic connection as a diversion and making up a second plan to lead the Mind-Prowlers on a false trail. So, after we decided on what to do, I purposely made our conversation viewable to them. And then we played it all out according to plan. Well, mostly… There were a couple of… slip-ups towards the end, but it all worked out.

The Mind-Prowlers were absorbed by the Tardis and are no longer a threat to anyone…

And of course, I explained them and the rather unfortunate Malcolm Tucker situation to Clara after I'd woken…

Let's please never speak of that again.


End file.
